September Update

 September brought very few finishes for me, even though I felt as if I stitched and crocheted often.  Some months are just like that, though.  I did make my monthly Christmas ornament.  I chose Noel by Nikyscreations in the JCS 2018 Christmas Ornament Issue.  I stitched mine on 40 ct Vintage Country Mocha with the called for DMC floss.  It's small and cute, and I love it.

 I also made my way through the month's installment for Redagape's Casual Granny CAL.  This is the Happy Hippy Square.  I chose colors that make the flowers look like suns.  I think they will be cheerful in my blanket.
I have been focusing a lot on Hooked on Sunshine's Atlanticus and hope to be finished very soon.  This will be a Christmas gift for someone special and am using Lion Brand Mandala yarn in Chimera.  I have learned with this design to count, count some more and then count again 😉😉😉😉😉😉

End of July Update

Hello.... I am still making a Christmas ornament monthly.  For July I chose Prairie Christmas Cat by Prairie Schooler.  I used 32 ct Cobblestone Belfast linen with one strand of CC floss.  I wanted the kitty to resemble my recently departed Anouk, and selected Balsam Fir, Black Coffee, Magnolia Blossom, Ribbon Red and Sassy Brass.  It really does make me think of her and was a fun stitch.

In July I also kept up with RedAgape's Casual Granny CAL.  Part 6 is the Daisy Granny Square.  I chose to pull out Wisteria, Spring Green, Pistachio, Apricot, Bluebell, Fondant, Aspen and Parma Violet from my previous squares to border my daisies.

I made up a little friend in July as well.  This is Carlos the Hummingbird in Zoomigurumi 6.  The designer is Younique Crafts.  I made him up with Stylecraft Special DK in Spring Green, Empire, Aspen, Midnight and Grey.  He has been spotted here by my honeysuckle vine 😊

Loved this new release by Polly Plum called I Heart Granny.  I used Lion Brand Mandala in Gnome...for Amelia.  😇

Caitlin and I finished up Hooked on Sunshine/Projectarian's Orbit CAL in July.  Here is mine, guarding DH's stack of video games.  He is made primarily with King Cole Baby Drifter in Kingfisher, with SSDK in Stone, White, Aspen, Apricot and Empire.  Apparently, he is a she... Caitlin named her Aurora.

And Caitlin's wee Orbit...  she used fingering yarn for hers.  He is so sweet!  I am so proud of her,  am still waiting to hear what she has named him...or her?  We will be making the Penelope Trixiebelle CAL together in the fall.

My mom has had her needle flying this month too.... an adorable little cloche for Amelia 😙😙😙

In preparation of putting our Orbit's together, I made this little Tea Party Pincushion for Caitlin.  It is made with DROPS Safran and the pattern is from Simply Crochet, Issue 72.  I left off the embroidered face...that is not her style 😎

I also worked up this Orchid Lace Baby Blanket after reading about a charity in need of handmade baby blankets.  They mentioned they were short on baby boy blankets.  I had two cakes of Lion Brand Mandala in Centaur that needed a purpose, so this blanket was born.

And here is the letter I received from Coping with LM, in case others may feel motivated to contribute as well.  The blankets are put into care packages for families whose babies struggle with breathing dosorders.

And finally, earlier in July I also made up this wee little Fruity Ami Strawberry from Inside Crochet, Issue 103.  I used Scheepjes Cotton 8 and Scheepjes Catona.

End of May Update

I just browsed through my phone again and grabbed some pics for this month.  I stitched up Waiting for Christmas Night by Mani di Donna as my SAL ornament this month.  Having taken a class at Celebration with Simona Bussiglieri earlier this month, it felt like time to do this one from my list.  The chart is in the 2016 Christmas-Winter Issue of Punch Needle and Prim Stitching Magazine.  I used an unknown scrap of 36 ct Lakeside Linens fabric and subbed the floss with Crescent Colors floss... simply because I had my ring of CC floss on hand and it was easier to just use it.  😊

At some point I wanted to just do a little small project.  I decided to do Lalylala's Last Minute Easter Bunny-Egg CAL from her Instagram account.  It's very wee.  I used some Scheepjes Cotton 8 yarn I had on hand.  DH now has it sitting on his desk...lol.

I completed part 4 of Red Agape's Casual Granny CAL this month.  The two circular ones are the new addition.  There are 32 total squares made up so far, but it was easier to photograph one example of each style of square.  I am having great fun with this CAL.  I am using leftover Stylecraft DK yarn, and am enjoying selecting my colors each month.

This month I continued on with LHN's Farmhouse Christmas.  I am now through the first four parts and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the fifth.  I am stitching mine on Lakeside Linens 40 ct Reindeer linen.  It's so sweet and tiny.  Just love it.

A new start this month is Rosewood Manor's Garden Row, a design from the 2015 CS&N Keepsake Calendar.  These colors are super cheerful.  My linen is Lakeside Linens 36 ct Pecan Butter.

My second class at Celebration this month was with the incomparable Jeannette Douglas.  I greatly enjoyed sitting with an old stitching friend in this class and we enjoyed Jeannette's enigmatic style, quick wit and exceptional needlework skills...

This is the very pretty project we began stitching in the class 🎶😎😉

Also, my niece continues to become quite the devoted crocheter.  Only two months as a crocheter, and last night she texted me these adorable photos of Lalylala's ladybird complete with a pupa.  Caitlin chose pinks and yellows for her ladybird, putting her bachelor's degree in design right to work....love it! 😚

A side view...oh those wings!!

And in the pupa 😇

Earlier in the month, Caitlin hooked up Lalylala's Snail.  Her DH chose the colors.  I cannot believe how quickly she has picked this art up.  So proud of her.

My garden has begun to show up a bit for the party now....a very late spring here, but at last there are blooms... my favorite Siberian Iris is looking good today...

Some dwarf miniature iris...

Another dwarf miniature iris....😆

And now, with a heavy heart, I share that on May 4th we said goodbye to our beloved Anouk.  Anouk would have been 16 on June 15th.  She survived a partial mastectomy two years ago.  Sadly, cancer still grabbed her and she quickly began to fail.  I hope she found her way over the Rainbow Bridge and is reunited with her sister/littermate Lily who left us in 2016.  We miss Anouk terribly 😐   I miss her deep throaty chirps for her dinner.  I will always love you, Anouk 😙

End of April Update

April has ended, so what pics are in my phone...  here is the ornament I made in April.  This is Love in a Manger Ornament by Brightneedle.  It is stitched one over one on Country French Linen.  I subbed the silk with various CC floss.

Near the end of the month I also found some inspiration to start yet another crochet project.  I plan to put my Attic24 SSDK Coast Colour Pack to use for a special something here....

And earlier this week.... daffodils, at long last, in my garden!!

Celebration of Needlework in Nashua, NH has kicked off now for 2018.  This morning I took a very informative class with Simona Bussiglieri of Mani di Donna. She walked us through every step to construct this beautiful class project...

Crown Basket...  this will be fun to make someday 😆  I have another class with a different instructor on Saturday moring too.

More daffodils today!!  😎

And an incredibly proud moment to share.  My niece wanted to learn crochet, and most especially wanted to make amigurumi.... and more specifically, Lalylala designs.  She jumped right in.  Her first project is shown above, took her only a couple of days.  Meet Carla, the Dutch iris bulb.  Simply perfect!!  😙

The Merry Skater

March ornament is finished.  Only one this month, but its LHN and meets my goal for both SALs ... and was a stash buster too.  This is The Merry Skater on 32 ct Dirty Belfast Linen.  What is everyone else stitching?

February LHN Ornament Finally Finished

She is finally finished....  LHN's Christmas Angel for the FB LHN Christmas Ornament SAL.  Life got a bit in the way.  Sadly, I also got a little lazy...  I switched to sewing method while watching TV one afternoon for about a row of stitches and now my angel appears to have a wrinkle in her skirt... ah well, I knew better.  She is stitched on an unknown pieces of Lakeside Linens 40 ct linen, and used called for threads except for B5200 for her dress and subbed her skin tone to a lighter shade.  On to new things now.  Hope you are all well :-)

February Ornament

My February SAL ornament is all set.  I chose a square from Barbara Ana's Classic Christmas Charm in an old CS&N magazine.  Love the little Rudolph.  I used an unknown scrap of Lakeside Linens 40 ct linen and the called for DMC floss.  Another stash buster.

Another January Ornament finish

I have decided to try to follow the LHN/CCN Christmas Ornament SAL on Facebook this year, as well as stitching with Andrea.  I was able to get January done.  I chose LHN's Old Colonial.  I opted to put this year's date on mine rather than 1798.  I had ordered the R&R 32ct Winter Brew linen with the chart.  My small piece was very heavily creased from folding by the LNS.  I stitched my piece way up in the corner of that and trimmed it tight for this pillow finish.  I used Willow Green belfast for the backing, for a little bit of a twist.  I am pretty satisfied with those choices.  And... used what I had on hand and meets a stash buster goal for me too.

January Ornament Finish

 And finished!  At last, I have finished my first ornament for the Christmas Ornament SAL with Andrea.  This one was an adventure for me.  I cannot locate my DMC 169.  It must be kitted somewhere, and I subbed it with CC Blue Moon.  Am very pleased with that.  The chart is from PNPS 2017 Christmas-Winter Issue and is by Nikyscreations.  Unfortunately, the chart was poorly edited.  There are no instructions that this was to be stitched with one strand of floss (oh well...), had to guess what color to back stitch the wing, and the wing was not properly outlined on the chart.  Muddled through, and am content.  I am still quite fixed on small ornaments with beaded edgings.  I find I can always fit these on the tree no matter how loaded up my tree gets every year now 😁

I also have my first 2018 finish to share.  This is Cherry Heart Design's Granny Goes Large.  I worked this up with my Paint Box DK Rainbow Color Pack.  This huge bag of yarn simply had no place to live in my house, therefore this blanket was born.  It's big, bright, a bit dizzying and hard to photograph 😎.  This year will be a stash busting year for me.  Whenever possible, I plan to use what I have on hand (thus the floss substitution noted above) and see how much stash I can clear out.  While we all think our cross stitch stash can get large and take up space, I don't think it can ever hold a candle to how much space yarn takes up... 😂

Beautiful Christmas gifts from my friends :-)

My tree and my home are far more beautiful thanks to my lovely friends.  Such beautiful gifts, I shall cherish them forever.  Thank you all so much 🎅❤🤶

 From Andrea...

 From Christina...

 From Marie...

 From Katrina...

 From Karen...

From Margaret...  Christmas Blessings and Happy New Year 2018 to all 💖

Last finishes of 2017

 My New Year's Eve project was a flower pot cozy for my amaryllis plant...

 I stitched Praiseworthy Stitches Let it Snowman during quiet breaks at the office in the fall, managed to get the finishing done before the year ended...

 I made up Cuddle Me Lion... is it a lion or a teddy dressed as a lion, though?

 For Miss Amelia, Zabbez' Sunflower Sam...

 The Red Noel Ornament by Les grilles de Maryse with DMC 115 on 40 ct lambswool for a friend...

 Prairie Schooler Old World Santa on 36 ct Sand linen, colors tweaked, for a friend...

 LHN Blue House in Winter on 36 ct Vintage Country Mocha, also for a friend...

 Did the finishing on Brookes Books Happy New Year, which was stitched to celebrate 2014... better late than never!

 123Citrouille Bonne Annee on 36 ct Sand for Andrea :-)

And another WTNT Merry Holly Berries, this time on 36 ct Vintage Country Mocha, for an FB Christmas Ornament Exchange 🎅